Arthritis is a series of degenerative diseases of the joints. Some of the diseases are of inflammatory etiology, such as rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and others are noninflammatory in nature, such as osteoarthritis. Two types of osteoarthritis are: (1) geriatric osteoarthritis (generally occurring in older persons), and (2) post-traumatic osteoarthritis (resulting from joint fractures and other injuries). Arthritis is characterized by pain and swelling of the joints, which may lead to increasing immobility thereof. The disease may finally lead to deformity and ankylosis, the fusing of the bones of the joint together through unnatural boney growth, permanently and totally immobilizing the joint with resulting crippling of the subject.
Millions of people throughout the world suffer daily with the pain and discomfort of arthritis and it is the world's leading crippling disease and can affect both young and old. The cause is unknown, but autoimmune mechanisms and virus infections have been postulated. Various therapeutic agents have been prescribed and administered by medical professionals in an effort to curb the effects of arthritis, such as aspirin, cortisone, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), gold salts, and indomethacin, but all have met with limited success.
With this background in mind, the present invention is presented and one of its objectives is to provide a better treatment for the effects of arthritis.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a treatment for arthritis that may be administered orally or otherwise.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for relieving and reducing swelling of joints and other associated ailments following injuries thereto and to prevent or limit arthritis and cast dermatitis from occurring.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a treatment for arthritic pain and swelling involving a therapeutic agent that is inexpensive to produce and can be manufactured with standard chemical equipment.